LA lawmaker seeks to ban paper and plastic bags . . .

[lxskllr]

The only time I ever thrown out a plastic bag without reusing it for something else was when it has a tear in it. Otherwise, virtually all of my garbage goes into one of the plastic bags. Every night, the garbage goes out. I don't understand people's desire to harbor 3 or 4 days worth of garbage in their kitchen before they fill up a kitchen sized garbage bag.

It takes me about a week to fill a grocery store bag. Between recycling, and composting, I don't make much trash. Used cat litter is easily the largest part of my garbage by weight.

 

[gaidensensei]

I like places like Aldi. I get to use the boxes their stuff ships in, and it's convenient to use as a recycling container. Plastic bags can fuck off along with carousel style bagging stations. Use the old grocery style conveyor, I'll bag, and we'll both get done quicker.

Aldi's probably got a decent business model down that big chains should consider.
Quarter to use shopping carts, no free bags at counter, vegetables and fruits all prepackaged. It's like they're either being super stingy or pretty smart.

 

[lxskllr]

Aldi's probably got a decent business model down that big chains should consider.
Quarter to use shopping carts, no free bags at counter, vegetables and fruits all prepackaged. It's like they're either being super stingy or pretty smart.

I love Aldi. It's probably my favorite store now. I avoided them for years thinking it was ghetto food. I had some not terrific experiences with similar type stores in the past. The quality is right on. Not premium, but it'll hold it's own with regular national brands. The prices are cheap, and they run a tight ship. The selection isn't the best, but they have everything necessary, and I like the "special purchase" format of some foods they get in. That adds an element of surprise to the shopping experience, and makes it a little more fun :^)

 

[BoberFett]

The Aldi I went to was trashy and disgusting. Everything was picked over, the few vegetables that were left were mushy. It looked like the place had been ransacked, boxes everywhere, it was depressing. I haven't been back.

 

[lxskllr]

The Aldi I went to was trashy and disgusting. Everything was picked over, the few vegetables that were left were mushy. It looked like the place had been ransacked, boxes everywhere, it was depressing. I haven't been back.

Maybe it varies by location. I've only been in the one near me. Produce can be iffy. It doesn't look as pretty as some of the big stores, but it's always fine if you don't care about appearance. The problem is it comes and goes. If you saw something the previous week, there's no guarantee it'll be there the next week. I sometimes have to go to another store if I really need a particular fruit/vegetable, but that's infrequent. I usually just get what's offered, and work with that.

 

[bfdd]

Most the stores around me are already shoving reusables on us. I don't really mind, but it is fucking stupid that this is being regulated.

 

[purbeast0]

i was a bagger at a grocery store for 8 years. i saw some NASTY cloth bags that people just did not clean. i'm talking funky as shit. those mesh/netted bags also get stinky. and as others have said, they are a fucking pain in the ass to bag with and they slow down the check out process because of it.

 

[Aikouka]

and plastic bags have more then one use

carry food
puck up dog/cat shit

I use them for packing sometimes too. They work pretty darned well!

 

[CZroe]

Not reading the thread, but here's what's stupid about it:

The plastic in plastic grocery bags is made from a byproduct of oil refining. It is very cheap. When you reduce demand by legally limiting the use of something that is going to be produced no matter what, you create an oversupply that will reduct the prices even further. If they were to throw the excess away, then the implementers of the law would have gained nothing because that is what they sought to stop with their laws. The thing is, they DON'T throw it away. The cheaper price from the oversupply then stimulates the market to find a new use for this extremely cheap supply and then you have gained ABSOLUTELY NOTHING from any viewpoint (consumption or disposal).

 

[Ichinisan]

Even if they're not technically "biodegradable," those plastic bags deteriorate to tiny flecks. I can't imagine that they're doing any harm.

 

[Murloc]

aldi has good stuff, mostly german products but it's good quality and provides great bargain.

I think that banning plastic and paper bags is a good idea, because people can just buy IKEA bags and voila, problem solved.

 

[lxskllr]

Even if they're not technically "biodegradable," those plastic bags deteriorate to tiny flecks. I can't imagine that they're doing any harm.

They clog drains, and look like shit when they end up in the trees.

 

[Ichinisan]

They clog drains, and look like shit when they end up in the trees.

I never see them in trees around here. They deteriorate so fast...I'd bet you live in an area where trashy people constantly throw them outside.

 

[lxskllr]

I never see them in trees around here. They deteriorate so fast...I'd bet you live in an area where trashy people constantly throw them outside.

Every place is a trashy area where people throw them out. Elitist bullshit isn't particularly useful to the discussion. Just because you can't see it, it doesn't mean it isn't there ;^)

 

[Ichinisan]

Every place is a trashy area where people throw them out. Elitist bullshit isn't particularly useful to the discussion. Just because you can't see it, it doesn't mean it isn't there ;^)

Just because you think every place has this problem doesn't make it so.

I live in an apartment in Newnan, GA. No "elitism" here. We simply don't have a litter problem in this town, and the litter that I *do* see (the occasional bottle or fast food bag) doesn't end up in trees.

Furthermore, all the places I've been have not had a problem with shopping bags in trees.

I do remember the '80s and early '90s, when litter was absolutely overwhelming. Most people used paper bags back then, but plastic bags were around. They were in short trees because people would hang them up there while huffing to get high. You could usually see the paint inside or bits of rag that was used to keep the stuff from evaporating too quickly.

 

[nageov3t]

plastic bags are recyclable, aren't they?

my grocery store has a big box in front of it where you can return your old plastic bags.

I keep a good handful in my apartment for use as filling my bathroom garbage can or totting my lunch to work in, and when it gets to be more than a handful, I take the excess to my grocery store to be recycled.